PNS | Vijayawada
In a disturbing incident that has added fuel to the ongoing controversy surrounding the volunteer system in the State, a ward volunteer has allegedly murdered a septuagenarian woman and robbed her of gold chain at Sujathanagar in Pendurthi of the port city.
According to the police, the accused volunteer, identified as Rayavarapu Venkatesh (26), entered the home of Kotagiri Varalakshmi (72) with the intention of stealing her gold chain on Sunday night. On discovering that Varalakshmi was alone at home, the volunteer attempted to carry out the robbery. However, his plans were foiled when Varalakshmi recognised him and cried out for help. Fearing that she would expose his identity to her son, the volunteer suffocated her to death by pressing a pillow on her face before fleeing with her gold chain.
Kotagiri Srinivas, the deceased woman’s son, owns a fast-food centre at Purushothapuram in Ward No 95 of GVMC, where the accused volunteer was also employed.
Later that night, when Srinivas returned home after closing his fast-food centre around 12:30 am, he found his mother’s body. He immediately alerted the police about the incident.
Upon receiving the complaint, the police sprang into action, examining CCTV footage that led to the identification and arrest of the accused volunteer.
The body of the deceased was transferred to the GGH for postmortem examination. During interrogation, the accused volunteer reportedly confessed to the crime.
This horrifying incident comes at a time when the State is already engulfed in debates over the role and activities of volunteers, with Jana Sena chief K Pawan Kalyan raising concerns about the involvement of volunteers in cases of missing women, girls, and unauthorised data collection.
